GOLF: Bobcats release 2017 fall golf schedule

After more than year of hiatus, the Georgia Northwestern Bobcats are ready to get back on the golf course once more.

New head coach Eddie Jackson has been hard at work over the past nine months recruiting an entire new roster and setting up the Bobcats 2017 schedule, a slate that includes four tournaments this fall.

The Bobcats will begin the season on Sept. 10-12 at the Wallace State Invitational in Cullman, Ala. The tournament will be played at the Cross Creek Golf Club. Georgia Northwestern last played in the tournament in 2015 and finished in seventh place in the team standings after posting scores of 302 and 303.

The next event will be the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Nationals, Oct. 8-10, in State College, Pa. The national tournament will be contested at the Penn State University Blue Course, which hosted the tournament in 2015.

To qualify, players must average 100 or lower (for 18 holes) during the season. Each five-player team will count their four lowest scores. Teams are permitted to bring a fifth player with an average of no more than 105 in order to fill out a roster.

Last year, Bluefield State (W. Va.) posted scores of 301 and 311 to finish in first place at 36-over par. SUNY Canton (N.Y.) was second at 47-over and Cleary University (Mich.), the 2015 national champion, was third at 52-over.

Individual honors went to Kevin Kim of Berea College (Ky.), who shot 70 and 73. He was the only player in the field to finish below par (1-under). Nick Engleman (Penn State Lehigh Valley) and Nolan Reid (SUNY Canton) tied for second at 2-over.

A total of 108 players and 18 teams, both men and women, competed in last year’s tournament. South Carolina-Aiken won the first USCAA national title in 1972.

The Bobcats’ fall season will continue in Rome, Ga. on Oct. 22-24 for the Berry College Invitational. The event will be played at the Stonebridge Golf Club. GNTC played in the tournament in Oct. 2014, when it was held at the Coosa Country Club. The Bobcats shot 311 both days and tied for 13th place.

The fall slate will wrap up Nov. 12-14 in Montgomery, Ala. at the Trojan Invitational, hosted by small college golf power Central Alabama Community College. It will be held at the Wynlakes Golf Club.